Maxwell 19: Life is Still Boring

[catlady]

1 hour ago, Granwych said:

I love Penzey's.  I save up some $$ and hit the Hartford store.

 

I go to the one in Buffalo.  And I usually spend $100+ each time I go. I originally went for my sister; I needed a birthday idea, and she said she wanted to restock her cabinet.  Then a few months later I went for myself, and then kept going. 

[socalrules]

Anyone notice you never see the The Aunties taking Elissa and Joseph’s daughter for walks or to play? You only see her when Joseph and Elissa are there. You never hear about them going to clean or cook for Elissa when she is pregnant? It really seems as though  Joseph and Elissa aren’t even part of the extended siblings but more like extended cousins. Then again, maybe that’s why they look so happy. 

[SPHASH]

18 minutes ago, socalrules said:

Anyone notice you never see the The Aunties taking Elissa and Joseph’s daughter for walks or to play? You only see her when Joseph and Elissa are there. You never hear about them going to clean or cook for Elissa when she is pregnant? It really seems as though  Joseph and Elissa aren’t even part of the extended siblings but more like extended cousins. Then again, maybe that’s why they look so happy. 

I'm guessing Smug Joe doesn't want his family featured on the blog much.

[Captain Obvious]

1 hour ago, SPHASH said:

I'm guessing Smug Joe doesn't want his family featured on the blog much.

Also, Elissa only has two kids, sensibly spaced, isn’t homeschooling yet and may be getting more support from Joe at home, if he works from home. Maybe she doesn’t need “kiddie respite”?

She isn’t going to make the fundie dream of 4 under 4, but if she’s has 4 under 8 in five years time, she might start asking for help then.

[Coconutwater]

John and Chelsy haven’t really been featured much at all either, it could be due to Joe and John doing things differently in their life and not following how Steve wants them to be unlike like Chris. One can hope! 

[ophelia]

I think the amount of eligible fundie men out there isn't that small. Just look at the Staddons, Arndts and even the Bateses and Duggars have unmarried sons in their twenties. 

I agree with all the reasons that have been mentioned before why Steve might never let any daughter get married. I'd like to add the one thing that also comes to my mind as the main reason: He can't stand the thought of any of his girls having sex. Even if you need to have sex to produce little arrows and soldiers.

 

[petrushka]

11 hours ago, SPHASH said:

I'm guessing Smug Joe doesn't want his family featured on the blog much.

My instincts lead me to think Joe and family, while decidedly fundie, are putting some distance between themselves and Stevie's isolationist beliefs.  Joe is top dog at Swift Otter and attends and presents at conferences; in other words, he has to interact with people who are not fundie; he has more exposure to the outside world than when he was part of the family conferences.  Smug as he may be, I think he is probably the most intelligent and ambitious of all the Maxwells.  He seems careful to not blather on publicly about his fundie beliefs. Joe's had visits with Elissa's exuberant Italian relatives and exposure to great food and FUN!  All this may be moving him a notch away from Maxhellism, and thus a reason why they don't get more exposure on the blog.

[Bajovane]

I just had a look at the Swift Otter site - Daddy doesn't have a last name - he's just "Steve" (see team members)

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

Joe and John not being up Steve's ass on a constant basis like their older brothers gives me a bit of hope for Jesse. He sees John and Joe setting their own paths (I'm not saying they are rebelling or anything) a bit away from Maxhell. Hopefully Jesse can do the same in a few years. 

[molecule]

Today's post is a letter to Susannah. I have to say, the blog posts about Susannah are the only ones where I see authenticity from the Maxwells. Everything else is about how it looks on the outside to live their version of a Christian life. The Susannah posts show heart. 

[ophelia]

I feel the same way. They always touch my heart and give me some hope that within these over-scheduled, bland-food-eating robots still might be a human core.

[FunDieDumDum]

It’s a really touching and sweet tribute. Nicely done, Sarah. 

[daisyjane1234]

I also noted today's post to Susannah.

I will admit that I struggle with these posts.  Yes, I agree that these posts are probably the most authentic posts from a family who controls their public image in a manner that approaches OCD.  But yet as someone who has also "survived" the NICU experience I am torn.  My story is a little different.  My child didn't die, but lives to this day with profound disabilities and significant medical challenges and requires round-the-clock nursing.  

What really annoys me about these posts is that at times it reads as if  Sarah is claiming Nathan's and Melanie's story for her own theodicies.  Another's tragedy and heartbreak becomes fodder for her own theological needs which, to me, is unfair to Nathan and Melanie.  This is not her story.  She doesn't get to make sense of it on behalf of Melanie and Nathan.  Only they get to do that.  I get really, really angry when people use our particular story for their own theological musings and rationalizations - and it happens fairly often.  People cannot live with tragedy, particularly people with conservative faith (in my experience) , so they need to employ elaborate mental gymnastics to excuse God and turn great loss into something redeeming for God.  It is the only way their faith can be sustained otherwise God becomes cruel and heartless, or worse powerless.

A post acknowledging Susannah would have been lovely and thoughtful.  Similarly,  I wouldn't have a problem with a post exploring Sarah's own sense of grief and loss.  And that is how the post seems to begin, but the later paragraphs move into theodicy and a sense of ownership around Nathan and Melanie's recovery.  To me, only Melanie, and possibly Nathan,  gets to write that story.  This is Sarah claiming a heartbreaking story as her own to advance her own, specific, theological agenda. And while I assume Melanie probably feels similarly because this is the Maxwells after all and independent thinking of any kind, particularly the theological kind, would border on heretical, we don't actually know how Melanie feels.  As a mother who lived something similar I would suggest only Melanie gets to tell this particular story of grief.  

 

[nelliebelle1197]

On 3/15/2018 at 1:35 PM, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

So, none of the kids actually have a HS degree -- the minimum usually required for any job. No wonder they are self-employed. Stevehovah has made sure none of them can work in the "world".

Evil, evil asshat

They are a certified homeschool - Flowing Rivers, Twin Branches, some nonsense like that - so there is not reason for the kids to take a GED any more so than a kid in a private school should have to take it.

[Coconutwater]

1 minute ago, nelliebelle1197 said:

They are a certified homeschool - Flowing Rivers, Twin Branches, some nonsense like that - so there is not reason for the kids to take a GED any more so than a kid in a private school should have to take it.

Teri made sure to point out that it is non-accredited and Steve stated in the way back machine blog that they don’t do GED’s after a question, so unless they go get that themselves, they have no options for a future other than working for Steve. 

[nelliebelle1197]

On 3/18/2018 at 1:45 AM, SamuraiKatz said:

On 3/12/2018 at 12:26 PM, SPHASH said:

Those pics are awful!  I also hate this caption: I guess we told them to look at the baby. The boys got the memo but the girls did not.  Just another slam on girls.

The kids are adorable. I love the little girls dresses. Anna is a talented seamstress. She could support herself and the children if necessary.

I don't think ChrisAnna's boys are cute at all. Nathan & Melanie's boys are just cute as hell. I wonder if it is NR-Anna's styling choices - severe haircuts and old man clothes - vs the more relaxed and shaggy approach Melanie has.

1 minute ago, Coconutwater said:

Teri made sure to point out that it is non-accredited and Steve stated in the way back machine blog that they don’t do GED’s after a question, so unless they go get that themselves, they have no options for a future other than working for Steve. 

I could have sworn we found it registered with the state at some point, giving lie to that.  Am I crazy?

[daisyjane1234]

2 minutes ago, nelliebelle1197 said:

They are a certified homeschool - Flowing Rivers, Twin Branches, some nonsense like that - so there is not reason for the kids to take a GED any more so than a kid in a private school should have to take it.

What would one have to do to become a certified homeschool?  How would they demonstrate their school meets any kind of standards that would compare it to more traditional/public schooling? (which we know it doesn't). I don't get it.

 In Ontario, where I live, to the best of my knowledge, there is little to no oversight of homeschoolers.  My middle son (who lives with profound disabilities) is officially considered "homeschooled" but that is because we have arranged for alternate programming that meets his needs better than the local public school.  I know there has been NO oversight of our programming.

My other two kids attend a private school and I just can't get my head around the idea that a Maxwell education, in any way, matches the rigorous education of my typically developing children.

[Coconutwater]

5 minutes ago, nelliebelle1197 said:

I could have sworn we found it registered with the state at some point, giving lie to that.  Am I crazy?

I’ll look for the comments and links later and post them when I have time, unless someone else finds it first. I’ve got an interview in a few. 

[danvillebelle]

They chose the first option under the KS homeschooling law, which is to register with the state as a "non-accredited private school."  AFAIK, as in many of the other states with low or no oversight, a diploma issued by the home school is valid because that's all the law requires.  If one wants to pursue college after that, they just take the SAT or the ACT (or both).

[Eternalbluepearl]

I cried reading Sarah's letter. I cannot believe the absolute hell that Melanie and Nathan went through. I cannot imagine giving birth to my baby girl and her passing away 3 days later. What a nightmare. 

[nelliebelle1197]

53 minutes ago, danvillebelle said:

They chose the first option under the KS homeschooling law, which is to register with the state as a "non-accredited private school."  AFAIK, as in many of the other states with low or no oversight, a diploma issued by the home school is valid because that's all the law requires.  If one wants to pursue college after that, they just take the SAT or the ACT (or both).

THIS is what I was thinking of! It is unaccredited but valid. How, I don't know.

No need to look @Coconutwater!! This is what I meant!

[danvillebelle]

In a nutshell - it's valid (in KS) because the law treats a home school the same as a private school.  Just as a private school can issue a diploma, so can a home school.

Every state is different.  Some have a ton of oversight and hoops to jump through, some have none, most are somewhere in the middle.

[Palimpsest]

1 hour ago, daisyjane1234 said:

This is Sarah claiming a heartbreaking story as her own to advance her own, specific, theological agenda. And while I assume Melanie probably feels similarly because this is the Maxwells after all and independent thinking of any kind, particularly the theological kind, would border on heretical, we don't actually know how Melanie feels.  As a mother who lived something similar I would suggest only Melanie gets to tell this particular story of grief.  

This.  And your whole post was excellent.  Thank you for telling us your story. 

I have always felt uncomfortable about those posts of Sarah's but didn't know how to explain why they made me cringe a bit.  You hit the nail on the head.

On a different note, I finally caught up with the Maxwells after taking a break from Fundie dysfunction for a few weeks.  How dare the Maxwells have a flurry of activity and add two babies to the family when I am on sick leave!  

[elliha]

On 3/15/2018 at 2:07 PM, front hugs > duggs said:

Every time someone says "F*n", I read it in my head as fucking. And then have to backtrack and realize it means fun.

My head: That could be a fucking blog post idea, for example.

A Swedish curse word is "fan" (devil) and this is the word I read when I see f*n. 

[Ivycoveredtower]

2 hours ago, nelliebelle1197 said:

I don't think ChrisAnna's boys are cute at all. Nathan & Melanie's boys are just cute as hell. I wonder if it is NR-Anna's styling choices - severe haircuts and old man clothes - vs the more relaxed and shaggy approach Melanie has.

I could have sworn we found it registered with the state at some point, giving lie to that.  Am I crazy?

when I read one of the posts about the graduations (Can't remember whose one of the reversal boys.) Steve said they buy blank diploma's online and then chris fills them in. nothing seems legit about that. 

Sarah's letter made me tear up.